Early Chapter Books for the Girl in Your House

In honor of getting selected as a Cybils (Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards) judge for Early Readers/Chapter Books I thought it was fitting to do a post on this very topic.  These awards are a lovely opportunity for me to find books that may have never made my radar, to discuss books with librarians and book lovers from around the country and to help select a story that is not only well written, but that will also appeal to children.  I feel so lucky!

This week my books are bit female focused, sorry boys.  This was not intentional and I have a few good boy ones in the pipeline I will be blogging about in the coming weeks.  But if you have a girl, whoopee!  This is your week.  Many of these books are continuations of a series, and they are just delightful.  I so appreciate it when the second and third books are just as engaging as the first.

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Title:       The Gumazing Gum Girl!

Author:   Rhode Monijo

Target:    Grade 1-3

Series:     This is the first book in a planned series

What this book is about:
Gabby Gomez loves bubble gum.  She chews it non stop.  But when some gets stuck in her hair overnight, her mother is at her wit’s end and tells Gabby no more gum!  Gabby can’t seem to give it up cold turkey, so on the way to school she sneaks one last piece, but when the bubble pops over her entire body, strange changes begin to take place.  She becomes Gum Girl and her feats of sticky stretchiness save the day.  The only problem is that all the pride she feels over helping people doesn’t feel very good when she has lied to her parents about her gum chewing habit.  Oh, and a bad guy is out to get her - Dun! Dun! Dun!

Why I love this book:
The bold comic book illustrations are so striking and fun, they will draw readers to this book immediately.  The story also moves at a fast pace so that readers will quickly engage.  

I like the fact that the author uses onomatopoeia very successfully in the story.  And so you don’t think I am throwing big words around, it simply means words that imitate sounds like Nom! Nom! when she is chewing.  I thought it added a lot of charm to the text.

Another lovely element to the book was the fact that Gabby is hispanic and spanish words are scattered throughout the narrative.  It felt natural and even if you don’t know spanish, the context clues made the words very easy to figure out.

Who this book is for:
This is a great book for kids just making the leap to chapter books.  Large pictures are present on most pages.  Some pages have two or three paragraphs of text, but most have simply a sentence.

Final thoughts:
My only gripe with the book is that it ended quite abruptly with a few loose ends.  While this will probably not bother many kids, for me, I wanted a little more resolution.

To purchase this book, click on the following link to connect to Amazon: The Gumazing Gum Girl! Book 1 Chews Your Destiny (Gum Girl Novel, A)  A portion of each purchase goes to support this blog at no cost to you.

Title:       Penny and Her Doll

Author:   Kevin Henkes

Target:    Kindergarten - Grade 2

Series:     Yes

What this book is about:
Penny receives a wonderful new doll in the mail from grandma.  Penny falls in love immediately.  The only problem is that she can’t think of the right name for her new friend.  Everyone tries to help but nothing really fits.  Will Penny find the perfect name?  (I know you are on the edge of your seat wondering with this one!)

Why I love this book:

I love this book because Penny acts and speaks like a real first grader.  Her thoughts aren’t deep and complicated and there isn’t a serious lesson at the end of the story, she is just a kid who wants to find a name for her doll.    Henkes manages to make her not quite edge of your seat dilemma into a story that is charming and funny with it’s matter of fact tone.

Kid’s will appreciate her frustration in it’s simplicity because this is big stuff to a first grader! 

Who this book is for:

With large type and pictures on every page this is a great book for kids who are just starting simple chapter books.  The pink cover and doll theme puts this book squarely in the girl category.

Final thoughts:

Sometimes the simplest books are the hardest to write.  Henkes does a beautiful job with this series.

To purchase this book, click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Penny and Her Doll (I Can Read Book 1)  A portion of each purchase goes to support this blog at no cost to you.

Title:       Princess Posey and the Tiny Treasure

Author:   Stephanie Greene

Target:    Kindergarten - Grade 2

Series:     Yes

What this book is about:
Posey’s grandfather buys her a special toy pig which she longs to take to school to show her friends.  However, she is afraid that she will have trouble putting it away and toys that are not put away go into the “consequences drawer.”  When this fate befalls her pig, will Posey be able to get her back?

Why I love this book:

I think all of the Posey books are quite charming and deal with real issues that concern first graders.  I also like that in a simple chapter book, Greene is able to show that not all issues are cut and dry and that real life can be complicated.  Posey is a real little girl as she wrestles with the rules.

Who this book is for:

These books are positioned squarely for girls. This book is for kids who are moving into chapter books.  Pictures are scattered liberally throughout but not on every page.  Large type and smaller pages make this a good transition book.

Final thoughts:

This book works well with the picture book Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes which also deals with bringing things out in class at inappropriate times.

To purchase this book, click on the following link to connect to Amazon: Princess Posey and the Tiny Treasure  A portion of each purchase goes to support this blog at no cost to you.